IDO

The IDO was founded in 1981 to provide competitive structure for dance styles outside the traditional ballroom world.

The organization recognized early that show dance, jazz, tap, and emerging street styles needed their own international championship framework.

IDO grew rapidly through the 1990s and 2000s as hip hop, breaking, and contemporary dance exploded in popularity worldwide.

The organization achieved recognition from SportAccord (now GAISF), giving it legitimacy alongside WDSF in the international sports governance landscape.

Today, IDO sanctions world championships across 30+ disciplines and has member bodies in 90+ countries.

IDO was instrumental in bringing breaking and hip hop dance into the international competitive arena long before breaking's Olympic inclusion.

IDO is governed by a Presidium elected by national member body delegates.

Technical committees set rules for each discipline independently.

Judges are licensed through IDO's adjudication program.

National member bodies coordinate domestic competitions and select teams for international events.

World Championships held annually for each discipline (Show Dance, Hip Hop, Breaking, Contemporary, Tap, Jazz, etc.).

European Championships and other continental events.

Divisions: Children, Junior, Adult, Senior across solo, duo/trio, small group, and formation categories.

IDO's breadth is unique — no other organization covers as many dance disciplines under one umbrella.